This is from the official website of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales:

On Tuesday 12 February 2019 Pope Francis cleared the way for the canonization of the much-loved educationalist Cardinal John Henry Newman. The Pope received Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorised him to promulgate two decrees on miracles from sainthood, a decree on martyrdom and five on heroic virtues. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has warmly welcomed the news that Cardinal Newman will be declared a saint.

Following the announcement, Cardinal Nichols said: “This is wonderful news which will be greeted with thanks to God by people across the world. Newman’s exploration of faith, depth of personal courage, intellectual clarity and cultural sensitivity make him a deeply admired follower of Christ. He brings together so many of the best of Catholic traditions shared well beyond the Catholic Church. His canonization will be welcomed especially in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.

“For me the truly remarkable nature of this moment is that this is an English parish priest being declared a saint. During his life the people of Birmingham recognized his holiness and lined the streets at the time of his burial. I hope every parish priest in England will hold his head high today knowing Cardinal Newman is declared a saint.”

Cardinal John Henry Newman was beatified –declared a ‘Blessed’ – by Pope Emeritus Benedict VI on his historic state visit to the UK in September 2010.

Two weeks ago I told you about the new prayer scheme in our diocese where each week everyone prays for one parish in the diocese. Well, this week it’s our turn in our 3 Churches. People all over Glamorgan, Monmouthshire and Herefordshire (yes, I know that’s the old names, but it’s easier) are praying for Christ the King, St Brigid’s and St Paul’s. They will be praying for the people and priest, but also for schools and other places in the parishes. So maybe it’s a good time to remind ourselves too of what goes on in our very midst.

So – schools. We have three Catholic ones – Christ the King Primary on Everest Avenue, Corpus Christi High School in Ty Draw Road beyond Cyncoed, and St David’s College on Ty Gwyn Road.

Then although we don’t have any hospitals – the Heath is strictly speaking in St Joseph’s – we do have a lot of care homes, sheltered accommodation etc, such as Ty Coch, Gwynfa and Cartref all in Station Road, at one end of our area, through Llys Enfys in Smith Road behind Morrisons, and the other Cartref in Lake Road East, to Oldwell and Penylan House on Penylan Hill and Sunrise right next to St Paul’s, at the other southern end of our area. This is by no means an exhaustive list as there are several other facilities of different kinds, and new ones are appearing, such as Llys Faith in Tyglas Avenue.

Most of all, of course, the parish is you and me, the people. Together we make up the People of God in this particular part of the Lord’s vineyard, with our activities and ministries and, above all, our lives, our words and deeds. This Thursday I celebrated Mass with Year 5 of Christ the King School, and their theme was “Mission”. In the introduction, two of the children told us

“Gospel’ means ’Good News’. The Good News Jesus came to make known is that God loves each of us and that living in God’s Way brings love, justice and peace for the entire world. Jesus carried out his mission by what he said and what he did. Jesus did not carry out his mission on his own, he called people to be with him and they were inspired to work with him. He travelled through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the Good News. Today our mission as Christians is to continue to proclaim the truth of the Gospel in our words and our actions.” Couldn’t have put it better myself!

So it’s good to know that this week people are praying for us – from Chepstow to Porthcawl, from Hereford to

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